Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Rice, Ødegaard (c), Jorginho; Saka, Havertz, Trossard.
Subs: Ramsdale, Hein, Partey, Smith Rowe, Nketiah, Cedric, Tomiyasu, Fábio Vieira, Nelson, Elneny, Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus.
Porto (4-2-3-1): Costa; João Mário, Pepe (c), Otávio, Wendell; Varela, Nico González; Francisco Conceição, Eduardo Pepê, Galeno; Evanilson.
Subs: Claudio Ramos, Fábio Cardoso, Eustáquio, Grujic, Taremi, Sánchez, Jaime, Namaso, Romário Baró, Toni Martínez, Gonçalo Borges, Ze Pedro.
Referee: Clément Turpin (France)
Mikel Arteta has grabbed his leotard and welding mask, urging his players to take their passion and make it happen in the Champions League tonight.
David Hytner takes a look at the bigger picture for Porto, currently behind the two Lisbon sides in the title race. Amid financial uncertainty and boardroom turmoil, former manager André Villas-Boas is bidding to return as president.
As mentioned below, Porto arrive here with a 1-0 lead after Galeno’s late strike punished an Arsenal side who failed to muster a shot on target.
Intriguing news emerging today: the new Champions League “league phase”, which comes into effect next season, is so complicated that the draw will have to be done by computer. What could possibly go wrong there?!
There was a time not so long ago when the Champions League last 16 was indisputably the “round of Arsenal”. From 2010-11 to 2016-17, the Gunners crashed out at this stage on seven consecutive occasions. This is the club’s first season back in Europe’s premier competition since then, and a chance for Mikel Arteta to start rewriting recent history.
This being Arsenal in Europe, doing so was never likely to be smooth sailing; amid a run of ruthless, free-scoring domestic form, Arteta’s side lost the first leg 1-0 in Portugal. They are still big favourites to go through tonight, and can banish a few demons with the kind of comprehensive win that has been their forte of late.
The last time Arsenal reached the quarter-finals in 2010, they did so at the expense of Porto, thrashing them 5-0 at home after losing the first leg. Other omens are not quite so positive – Arteta is yet to win a knockout European tie at the Emirates in five attempts. Tonight, club and manager will either change that narrative, or be left with the familiar feeling of what might have been.